


Polyglot, a Pain in the Ass

by moonguks



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: M/M, Starbucks!AU, everyone's a college student, fluff fluff fluff, idk where this even came from
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 08:27:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6072169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonguks/pseuds/moonguks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sleep-deprivation can make Alex' tongue get looser than liquor. And by loose, I mean sentences spilled out in the many languages he knows without realizing he's no longer speaking in English.</p><p>or </p><p>in which Alex needs caffeine and fails to get it in English</p>
            </blockquote>





	Polyglot, a Pain in the Ass

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Hope you read this because:
> 
> Conversations put in italics should be read as if they're spoken in a different language (translating each line is a hassle and I only take French so) 
> 
> this is based on a tumblr post about how this guy accidentally ordered his coffee in a different language and apologized in i think 2 different languages? Only to receive a horrified look from the barista ----- spun that idea a bit and tweaked it to be hamburr cos trash af
> 
> it's unbeta'd, so sorry for any mistakes! Enjoy <3

Alexander Hamilton hasn't slept in a week.  
  
Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. It's been-- what? Three? Four… _five?_ \--days since his last 6 hours?  
  
Honestly, he doesn't exactly know how long he hasn't slept. (He's a bit too weak to remember.)  
  
But that isn't new. It does happen quite often (and Laurens calls him off too much for it).  
  
What doesn't happen often, however, is forgetting to buy a new coffeemaker since he broke the last one upon waking up from a nap he wasn't supposed to have since he still needed to edit (and re-edit, then reread, then edit _again_ ) his paper. He couldn't find anything to write on and he may have tripped on the coffeemaker wire while he was searching for paper, causing the machine to shatter into pieces in the process.  
  
Which brings him to Starbucks at around 8:30 in the morning without coffee in his system, ready for some (overpriced) caffeine and maybe a warm cinnamon roll. The line's short but the customers go by a bit slower than usual, seeing as it's still a bit too early, but there are around four people up front behind the counter.  
  
He digs his hands into his hoodie's deep pockets and entertains himself by reading a few passages from the book he hid in its depths while he waits for awhile.  
  
By the time it's Alex' turn, he doesn't even bother to check the menu, his order spilling from his lips even before his brain caught up with what he was saying. " _Venti latte. Add some vanilla and a shot of milk. And a warm cinnamon roll please._ ”  
  
He pockets the book and contemplates on taking a lollipop too since he could do with something sweet when he writes that article Washington asked him to do yesterday. He squints at the flavors and tries to decide on which he should get.  
  
It takes three, maybe four, beats of silence for him to realize that no one's asking for his money or his name. So he repeats his order, finally looking up at the cashier. The guy blinks, as if surprised for a moment, before nodding like Alex totally didn't notice that.  
  
What? Did he say anything wrong?  
  
"Name?" he asks casually, returning to the usual cadence cashiers often have.  
  
"Alex."  
  
" _That'd be 5 dollars, señor,_ " the man replies fluently, typing in his order before writing Alex' name in a cup.  
  
Maybe it's the lack of coffee but, "Pardon me, but did you just speak in Spanish?"  
  
The cashier, Aaron, his nametag reads, raises his eyebrow at that. "That depends. Did you order a Venti in French and a cinnamon roll in German, only to repeat the entire thing in Spanish or was the entire thing nonsense?"  
  
Alex feels his face burn at that. His eyes find the baristas behind Aaron, and most of them are staring at him like he's insane. Shit. He spends too much time with Laf and the others to forget that not everyone speaks in the same tongues as he does. "I did? God, I'm sorry. My friends usually have no trouble understanding since we're all multilingual and I haven't had my coffee nor slept in a long time because of my requirements so I guess my mouth sort of went off with whatever language it could come up with and wait, hang on, but you understood me! That's so cool, woah, how many other languages do you know?"  
  
The talking earns him two raised eyebrows from Aaron. "For someone who hasn't had coffee you sure talk like you've downed too much of it this morning."  
  
Alex shrugs, his ears are still warm but he's smiling because he firmly believes he has enough dignity to not be embarrassed by how fluent he is in his many languages (and because Aaron's a polyglot too and he looks more entertained than annoyed by Alex' babble…and the fact that Aaron's good-looking helps too.)  
  
" _Sorry_ ," Alex begins.  
  
"You did it again. Latvian?" Aaron asks, guessing the language.  
  
"I…yeah!" Alex feels himself grin, "Anyway, sorry, I sort of got off tangent there, I usually do that. I mean, my friend, John--"  
  
Someone loudly coughs behind him. Alex turns to see a student glaring at him, eyebags dark and hair ruffled enough to show symptoms of a fellow all-nighter in need of caffeine. Alex shoots him an apologetic grin, "Sorry."  
  
He pulls out his wallet quickly and hands Aaron a 10 dollar, telling him, "Here. And pay for..." Alex trails off, turning back at the guy to ask for his name.  
  
The stranger's face softens when he realizes what Alex was trying to do. He introduces, "Madison, James."  
  
Alex smiles. "Yeah pay for Maddy's coffee too. He looks like he needs it as much as I do. Keep whatever's left since I'm obviously a bit of an inconvenience."  
  
Aaron gives him an amused smile. " _Not really. You probably just need to talk less,_ " he adds the latter in French, when Alex starts to look smug. Then he directs his attention to Madison, "So how do you like your coffee, sir?"  
  
Madison replies without speaking in anything but English of course, since his brain wasn't as addled as Alex'. When he's finished, Aaron hands over a receipt and it's only then that Alex realizes that the baristas haven't stopped staring since the beginning of the conversation. Aaron fixes them all a look and they simultaneously turn away, trying to be as innocent as a guilty man.  
  
As they walk, Madison taps his shoulder and fidgets awkwardly for awhile when he says his thanks.  
  
"You're welcome, man."  
  
The guy excuses himself to find a seat at the end of the shop, pulling on some earphones once he does.  
  
Alex takes a table closest to the pick-up station and pulls out his book, returning to the last line he read. He barely notices Madison's name being called before him since the sleep deprivation always messed up his attention span, therefore not giving him the chance to realize that his drink was taking a bit too long. However, he does perk up upon hearing his name.  
  
"Venti for Alex!"  
  
He's surprised to find Aaron giving him his coffee instead of the barista and the employee shrugs when Alex tells him so. "My co-workers don't want to risk themselves with a nosebleed from your language slip-ups," he says, shaking his head. "Here, _a Venti latte with some vanilla and a shot of milk. And a sliced warm cinnamon roll._ "  
  
Alex laughs at the French and German. " _Thanks._ " He takes the cup and paper bag, both sharing a smile. He opens his mouth to invite Aaron out for…something that isn't coffee, probably, but to the side, one of the baristas call, "Burr, back to your station."  
  
Aaron nods and turns to leave…but not without forgetting to shoot Alex a look that was almost apologetic, like he wanted to stay--but Alex doesn't want to be a bother so he just shrugs, muttering a goodbye, smile intact but a feeling of disappointment punching his gut.  
  
He thinks maybe he can ask the guy out hastily, while he's still in Starbucks--but next thing he knows he's waving a hand at Maddison in goodbye since apparently his legs have their own mind (which is to get home ASAP to finish checking at least a quarter of the pile on his desk) and because he may be a little, teensy, bit scared of any form of rejection.  
  
When he finally gets home, he sighs and makes his way to the trash can by his bed, only to stop when he notices that his tissue was covering something written on the cup.  
  
Beside his name, a neat cursive writes in Spanish:  
  
****_Take a break. And smile more. It suits you. Maybe we can do both some time?_  
-Aaron  
  
and a hastily written phone number at the bottom.  
  
Alex, finally caffeinated, grins wide enough that he thinks his face might crack. He doesn't even hesitate to pull his phone out and call immediately, his Dutch spewing from his lips without thought.

 

Aaron doesn’t disappoint as he fires back a greeting in the same language.  
  


  
  
Alex ends up _not_ buying a coffeemaker at all since it meant not seeing Aaron for reasonable caffeine...reasons.  
  
(At least not until Aaron makes him buy one when he moves in with Alex months later, when they're both too broke for Starbucks and sick of cinnamon buns.)  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading -- feel free to comment and stuff <3 <3


End file.
